A Slight Inconvenience
by tomoyamisuru
Summary: Levi hates hotels. Or, more specifically, sleeping anywhere that isn't his own bed. So when he's called out by Erwin to a hotel in an industrial town in France on business, it would be an understatement to say he is less than pleased. A slight inconvenience in the hotel bar may change his opinion, however. An inconvenience with shiny auburn hair. Rivetra(Includes character Isabel)
1. Chapter 1

"Name's Levi Ackerman, one room for one night only."

The receptionist smiled at him as she passed him his room key, and said something about newspapers, or whether he'd like croissants in the morning.

But Levi wasn't really listening. He was tired as hell, and right now all he wanted was to go to sleep. Unfortunately, his boss had other ideas.

"Is that all you will be needing?"

"Yeah, that's fine. Thanks."

"Have a nice night then."

"You too."

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><p>His bags fell to the floor with a soft thump as he flicked on the light. Levi stared at the room in distaste. Damn you, Erwin. I'd rather have paid for my own room than have to sleep for one night in this cupboard.<p>

Sighing, he sat down on the tiny bed, which creaked in protest, and turned on the TV. Then he turned it off. It was all in French, of course. Despite spending most of his childhood in France, Levi had moved to England when he was around 13, so by now, at age 23, he was far from fluent.

Since, he had nothing better to do, Levi decided to go and find Erwin. Maybe, if he complained enough, Erwin would get him a bigger room. On the other hand, Erwin was known for his stinginess, and was in fact more than likely to ask Levi if he'd rather double up and sleep on the floor of his room. Forget that, then.

The lights in the hallway buzzed eerily as Levi headed down to the bar, the place he was almost certain Erwin would be.

Loud voices and the sound of drinks clinking on wooden stools was what guided Levi to the bar. Just as well they had. Any signs were all in French.

"I'm too damn tired for this." Levi grumbled as he entered the bar, and the sound of yelling and the bleeping of arcade games assaulted his ears.

"Levi!" A broad hand was clapped on his shoulder, and Levi turned to see Erwin, smiling at him, a pint of beer in the hand that wasn't currently on his shoulder.

"Erwin." He brushed Erwin's hand off his shoulder, and glared at him. "Nice of you to call me out here. Couldn't handle it by yourself?"

Erwin laughed loudly before replying. Drunk, probably. "Well, you know how it is. Besides"- Erwin leaned forward, sounding more serious, "You've not got anything better to do, have you? I heard about what happened. Are you okay?"

"I'm great, just brilliant. I love being called out to the middle of nowhere to help you run your own damn business." Levi wasn't usually one for sarcasm, but tonight, tonight, he was pissed, and he was going to direct that to Erwin.

"Tired, are we?" Erwin, to his disappointment, sounded amused.

"I'm going to buy a drink."

"One more for me while you're at it?" Erwin called, gesturing to his empty glass. "Thought I'd make the most of it. Don't get stuff like this back in England!"

Definitely drunk.

The bar itself was surprisingly empty, with only two girls managing it.

Levi took a seat, and one of them; the younger, glanced up at him before wiping her hands on her messy apron, and jogging over to where he sat.

She grinned widely. "What can I get for you? Beer? Wine? Or is it food you're after?" She said all this in a rush, her messy pigtails bouncing up and down with each word.

"Just a beer, thanks."

"Yessir, comin' right up!" Levi was intrigued by her accent. Irish maybe? Not French, that was for certain.

He was interrupted from his thoughts as he was hit, squarely in the face, with a jet of ice-cold, high quality, French beer.

Levi inhaled sharply, and looked up towards the perpetrator, who was drenched herself, and holding the beer pump, which so happened to be aimed directly at him.

The bar went silent, as people turned away from their drinks to stare at them. Well, at Levi.

Levi could practically feel Erwin's stare boring into the back of his head. This is your fault, Levi mentally accused.

"Isabel! Again?" A voice called over the crowd now surrounding them, tinged with frustration.

Levi looked over, and felt his pupils dilate. Pushing through the crowd, the second barrister was hurrying over, strands of red hair about her face as she proceeded to examine the mess caused by 'Isabel.'

"I'm sorry! It was an accident, I-" Isabel rambled, her face flushed in shame.

The older girl sighed, and turned to face Levi, an apologetic smile on her face. "I'm so sorry about this. If you like, I could give you some clothes? Then you won't have to go back up to your room in wet clothing?"

"Y-yeah." Levi very nearly clapped a hand over his mouth. He stuttered? He never stuttered! He looked back to the girl, who had cocked her head, and was looking at him quizzically, the same smile on her face.

"Follow me then." She swung open the bar door for him, smiling brightly, hazel eyes big and soft and warm.

"I have some clothes in the back you can use. They might be a little big, but they'll do for now, I hope!' She laughed, and Levi couldn't tear his eyes away.

She then proceeded to head into the back, and exited into a small apartment via the kitchens, closely followed by an anxious Isabel, and a tired, sodden Levi.

The hazel-eyed girl halted suddenly, and turned round to face him, looking slightly embarrassed. "My name's Petra, by the way. And this girl here is Isabel, in case you didn't already realise."

Isabel smiled weakly.

"Levi Ackerman. Nice to meet you."

Petra grinned. "Nice to meet you too. I'd shake your hand, but I think that can wait until you've dried off a bit."

"That'd probably be for the best, yes."

Flushing slightly, Petra gestured for him to enter first.

"This way then, Mr Ackerman." She stood back to let him past, and in the spilt-second of intimacy in the narrow doorframe, Levi could only think one thing.

You know what? Maybe he should thank Erwin instead.

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><p><strong>AN**

**This was originally going to be a oneshot, but it went funny and now I feel the need to make it multi-chaptered.**

**I included Izzy in this because I love her and she needs more attention.**

**Err, also my knowledge of France is limited, so if the way people act/the hotel setting seems a bit weird, just imagine it's set somewhere else ^_^**


	2. Chapter 2: A Sign Of Things To Come

**/INTENSE FLUFF AHEAD YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED/**

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><p>Levi shivered slightly. He wished Petra would hurry up.<p>

After the beer incident, Levi found himself tucked into the hospitality of the young barmaid, who was, at the moment, trying to find a sweater that would fit him.

Levi looked around the small bathroom. He had been surprised to find out that Petra lived in the tiny flat behind the hotel kitchens. He had no complaints however: the flat was cosy to the extreme, and, to his delight, dirt-free.

Isabel was sitting on the bathtub opposite him, running her fingers nervously over the ceramic.

How old was she? Not an adult, that was obvious. Levi frowned. He'd never been good with ages.

Petra must be 20 plus, he decided. Although those warm eyes of hers were rounded and soft like a child', her old-fashioned bob of auburn hair framed her curved, smooth face like in a way that was neither childish nor mature. Somewhere in the middle.

A loud crash brought him back to Earth. Glancing up, he saw the door had been swung open, revealing a very flustered looking Petra.

She handed something to him.

"It's the sweater." She sounded out of breath.

"Thanks." He resisted the urge to say "About time."

"I had to run upstairs to get it." She grinned. "Although we're practically the same size, I doubt you'd appreciate being given one of mine."

"Damn right." He pulled it over his head, revelling in the warmth.

Petra sat down next to Isabel on the bathtub.

"So." She brushed some dirt off her apron.

"So...I should be going then." Levi got up to go. "Thanks for the change of clothes." He turned to leave.

"Wait!" Petra lunged out to grab his arm.

Isabel giggled, and Levi stared; Petra froze in embarrassment, and a pale pink colour spread up her cheeks.

"No, I mean," She rambled. "Well, seeing as we, spilt beer on you and all, would you like to stay for dinner? That way you don't have to pay for hotel food, and I can make dessert and stuff and-"

He interrupted her. "I can stay. I don't have any plans for tonight anyway."

She blinked, and the blush faded slightly.

"That's good then." God, she was awkward.

In the meantime, Isabel had been silently cracking up with laughter, and was now rolling around in the bathtub, tears practically streaming down her face.

"You two should just get married already!" She guffawed, as she made a slightly _rude_ gesture with her hands.

Now it was Levi's turn to blush. Or rather, become less composed than usual.

"Levi, you can go and wait in the living room." Poor Petra sounded mortified.

He obliged and left, closing the door just in time to hear a sting of vicious curse words stream out of Petra's mouth as she attacked the laughing Isabel.

Levi sat down, picked up a magazine and flipped through it listlessly. He was lying when he said he didn't have any plans. But dinner with Petra sounded far more appealing than the stack of paperwork waiting for him in his briefcase.

The hushed voices coming from the bathroom seemed to cease, and both Petra and Levi emerged, Isabel looking very sorry for herself indeed.

Petra nudged the girl next to her, who pouted.

"...I apologise for my disrespectful action." She mimed being sick, and Petra scowled at her.

"Anyway, isn't it time for Isabel to be going now? Oh what a _shame_." Petra stared pointedly at the girl.

"Ah yes, look at the time? I'd best be going!" Isabel smiled the most sarcastic smile he had ever seen. Impressive. He liked this kid.

Petra ushered/forced Isabel out of the little flat.

Petra sighed as she closed the door. She collapsed in the chair next to Levi and frowned.

"She looks like a handful."

"She is!" Petra grumbled. "She' s staying with her aunt over the holidays, and because her aunt can't handle her, she sends her over here during day so I have the joy of "_babysitting_" her."

Petra's frown turned into a smile. "I love her to bits though. She tries to help, but, err, she sometimes tries too hard and-" She nodded at Levi. "Stuff happens."

"I see."

A silence enveloped the already stuffy air.

A creaking sound broke that silence as Petra stood up, and removed her apron.

"Dinner?" She smiled at him kindly, and Levi felt...nostalgic. It'd been a long time since he'd been treated like this, and it felt almost motherly. It was refreshing, and he loved it.

"Yeah, sure." He followed her into the kitchen. It was more of a cupboard really. A small stove, embroidered curtains, a small table for three tucked into the corner.

"What do you fancy?" She rummaged around in some cabinets, amber eyes flitting over the contents. "We have...cannelloni? Maybe I could make some gallettes..."

She looked at him uncertainly. "Shall we just have pizza?"

Her eyes were like ovens. Levi felt his face get warm just looking at them

He laughed a little. "Pizza is good."

A grin spread over her face. "Nothing beats pizza!" She declared loudly, and started bringing out ingredients.

Levi was invited to sit down, and he listened as she chattered about the pizza, talking about Isabel. The kitchen was cosy and warm and it smelt of pepperoni.

Her talking ceased only in the moments when she was concentrating, a crease appearing between her eyebrows as she kneaded dough and chopped tomatoes. Her auburn hair was tied in a messy ponytail, which was gradually falling out around her face. She pushed it back behind her ears in irritation.

"Done!" A pizza was flourished in front of him. Steaming and salty, Levi could practically already taste it.

They sat down to eat, and that's when Petra started to enquire about Levi, asking about everything from what his first pet was, to what his plans were for the future.

He was as happy answering them as she was asking them, their conversation flowing easily. When was the last time he'd had a meal like this? The pizza tasted much better than any crappy hotel food could.

Maybe it was a bad idea for Petra to offer him wine. She didn't drink, she'd told him, but she kept a bottle anyway for occasions like this.

Somehow everything was even warmer and comfier than before

He eventually checked his watch, and wasn't surprised to see that midnight had passed hours ago.

He stood up resentfully.

"Thanks for the dinner. It was really good, you're an amazing cook."

Petra's face fell slightly, but she covered it up pretty quickly. But not quick enough for Levi to spot it.

"No, it was my pleasure! Well, it was a sorry for soaking you in alcohol earlier." She started clearing away dishes.

"We'll do this again?" Levi couldn't keep the hope out of his voice.

He couldn't see her face, but he was almost certain she was blushing. "Yes, of course!" She was secretly thrilled.

"Petra?"

She noticed his change in tone, and looked over her shoulder. "Yes?" She looked quizzical. She had soapsuds on her nose, and Levi almost laughed.

He took a step closer to her. "Good night."

And damn, he didn't usually do things like this, especially after knowing someone for what, twelve hours? But what the hell, it was the alcohol, Levi decided, as he leant down to kiss her.

He felt her freeze, before relaxing slightly, her cheeks flushed in shock.

"See you tomorrow?" He grinned against her lips before pulling away. Ah, that had exactly the right effect. Her face was a vivid red, hands still raised in front of her slightly as if to pull him back. But she must've thought better of it, as she turned around and continued with the dishes.

"Yes, yes. _You sneaky little_-" He dodged as she turned around to through a tea towel at him, but she was laughing and her face was still red, but a happy red.

He threw the tea towel back to her. "'Night."

"Sleep tight." Now it was Levi's turn to be ushered out the door, but it was with good grace.

Levi headed back to his room, pleased.

He got ready for bed, thinking about the paperwork he had to do, and the phone calls he had to make, and for he smiled slightly.

It had been a long day.

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><p><strong>AN Wow nice seeing you again. After like 3 weeks. Because I haven't updated. Because I'm a horrible person. **_It will never happen again I swear._

**I have been metaphorically slapped in the face with schoolwork over the past month or too, so I haven't had as much time to properly sit down and write. However, I did today, and I was in the mood, so it's extra long and fluffy for your enjoyment *sparkles***

**I have to apologise especially to on my IG XD I HAVE FINALLY UPDATED and also sorry to anyone else who I've annoyed with my behind schedule updating. This chapter is for u fabulous pancakes. **

**I will be updating my other ****fix, "The Healing Process" tomorrow, because it's Friday so i can take as long as I want. It's also a more 'serious' angsty fix, and I was in a fluffy mood today *dies of Rivetra fluff***

**ALSO I CAN"T WRITE FLUFF IT"S VERY CRINGY AND I"M SORRY BUT I TRIED MY BEST. I hope you enjoyed ;3 See you next week!**


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